Chapter 34 - Thank You

It was Tuesday. Louis' meeting with Ichi was tomorrow. If he didn't have his own anxiety to remind him, Legosi certainly would have: the wolf would not leave his side since that morning, even taking trips down to the bathroom with him. Around noon, Louis was making lunch and Legosi stood directly behind him, stiff as a board.

The deer looked down as he worked, feeling the air from the canine's nostrils hit him. "You don't have to stand behind me all day."

"...Okay." The warm air receded, but Louis could tell Legosi was still behind him, just a bit farther.

He turned his head, looking at his husband. "You're acting like you did when we went and stole that bat with Pina."

The wolf let out a huff and clenched his fists. "I...I need to keep you safe."

"Well, they haven't put any microphones in our apartment at least. Locking the door is definitely something we need to do now."

Legosi nodded, looking over to the windows, which still had the cardboard wedged into them, this time to prevent prying eyes from gazing in, even though there were no buildings that reached five stories adjacent to them. He let out a growl. "It's...it's not fucking fair!"

"It is what it is," Louis said, sighing. "My life."

Legosi's growl turned into a groan and he slumped into a kitchen chair. "It's like the world is telling us 'no'."

The buck snorted. "Did you expect anything else? You expected to date a deer and the world just be fine?"

"Well I mean, we still have all the troubles associated with that, and I feel like we're doing a good job dealing with them, but this is just..." the wolf gestured vaguely, but with force. "This is like some movie!"

"We don't even know what he wants, Legosi!"

"With a death threat," he grumbled, laying his head on the table.

"...Yeah." He went back to making lunch. "I do have a bad feeling about it."

"Of course." Louis could hear his husband fidgeting. "I'm...I'm having some bad thoughts."

"Oh yeah? Like?"

"That...That I want to...hurt...that deer."

"Maybe he's bluffing and won't kill you. He doesn't know you know."

Legosi stood from his chair so fast it skid on the wooden floor, slightly. "No, you don't understand! That's a bad thought for a carnivore to have! Carnivores should never think of hurting herbivores! It leads to predation!"

Louis turned around. "I do understand!"

Legosi deflated and sat back down. "I'm sorry, hon..."

"You're clearly very upset about this. It's totally okay."

The dog nodded. "Let's just try to enjoy the rest of the day."

Louis sighed, continuing to make their sandwiches. "I really don't know what it could be."

"Guess we'll find out," Legosi resigned.

"...I should go alone, right?"

"Unless you can think of someone that isn't me."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe...have someone go that isn't me. I don't think any of our neighbors would want to go, though." Legosi mumbled.

"No, no, no...We can't rope anyone into this..."

The wolf nodded. "Yeah...so...alone, yeah. If I were to even show up that deer probably wouldn't even arrive and then...do whatever his plan is to kill me."

"...Yeah. Yeah..."

Legosi gripped the table, bringing up a topic from the night before. "I really should start training my body. I'm...a carnivore. And there's value in that when it comes to protecting."

"Training for what?"

"Defending us," he stated plainly.

"Us?"

"Us. Our friends. Everyone I care about."

"You mean you want to train to fight?"

The wolf nodded. "Utilize my strength." He looked pointedly at Louis after saying that.

The deer looked to the side. "I told you...Everybody is strong in their own way."

"Yes, but I need to be strong physically. Because it's my body's potential. Because it will ease my mind and yours."

"Calm down. You look really determined."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Legosi levied.

"It just...worries me..."

"It's not like you to want to hurt other animals."

Legosi nodded in agreement. "Yeah. But defending is different."

"But you still want to hurt that deer."

"I know...and I'm still worried about that feeling." Legosi looked up at Louis, trying to gauge whether or not the deer seemed afraid of him suddenly. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be.

Louis came over, looking down at him. "It will be okay. We're a team."

Legosi managed a smile. "Yeah...we'll figure this out tomorrow when we have a clear picture."

The deer wrapped his arms around him. "I love you..."

The wolf's smile grew. "I love you, too."

Louis sat on his lap. "Eggs are almost ready for the sandwiches."

"I can tell." Legosi sniffed the air. "I can't wait until we can have a full kitchen again."

"Is there...anything else you need to tell me about? Worries?"

The carnivore shifted underneath him. "Well, there's the dinner with Oguma that's always weighing on my mind, but...that seems so small in comparison now."

"Hey, hey...It will be okay. My father seems to have...changed. At least, a little bit."

"It's not so much that. I just want to make a good impression."

"You made quite the impression last time."

"By standing there while you shot him?" Legosi managed a humorous edge as he spoke.

"Exactly! You were my accomplice."

The wolf relaxed a bit. "I jumped over a wall and nobody even got to see it."

"What? A wall?"

"Yeah? You know, the outer wall of the place. That's how I got in."

"You jumped that?"

"Well, more like I jumped up and kind of vaulted over the edge?" Legosi tried his best to act it out, but it was hard with Louis on his lap. "So it wasn't a clean jump over. I thought you knew that. How'd you think I got in?"

Louis huffed. "I would have loved to have seen that."

Legosi nuzzled into him. "This lanky wolf of yours has tricks up his sleeve! See what I mean about the physical potential?"

"Erm...Yeah. My heart skipped a beat whenever you were fighting Riz, you know."

"Mine did, too." Legosi glanced at Louis' blushing face. "But I guess for a different reason..."

Louis touched his cheeks. "O-oh...Heh..."

"Maybe I could go to a gym and...you could watch," the wolf suggested playfully, his tail starting to wag.

"Watch you workout. Wouldn't that be something?" the deer chuckled, getting up and moving back to finish preparing their sandwiches. "Might not be able to contain myself."

Legosi matched his chuckle. It still felt strange knowing an animal that was attracted to him physically. He had hated his body most of his life, so suddenly having a new perspective on it was nice. "I'll need some cooler clothes for the summer. Maybe you should pick some out for me?" he continued with the playful tone.

"Maybe we should..." Louis finished making their food and then came back. "Maybe a shirt that shows your soft stomach and shorts that show your nice thighs. Erm...Maybe."

Legosi hummed in thought. "Only if you get some to match."

"W-what? My stomach isn't nearly as soft as yours."

"I still love it," Legosi crooned. "I love to kiss it."

"It's nice when you do." A pause. "I made your favorite, as you can see."

"And I never get sick of it." Finally, the wolf dug in, chewing happily on his meal.

The deer began eating along with him. "Mm...I want to find a nice restaurant and take you there for your birthday. Since I...missed it..."

"Wasn't that cafe trip my birthday meal?"

"I need to really make up for it...I keep feeling guilty." The two continued on with their food in comfortable silence.

There was a knock, then, and Louis and Legosi's ears perked as they looked over.

"Do you think it's him again?" Legosi whispered, shrinking back.

The buck's eyes moved to him. "Should I get my...?"

"Maybe..."

"H-hello? Louis-san? Legosi?" A familiar voice called. "I-It's Shogi."

Legosi stood up. "O-oh! Shogi-san! We'll be right there!"

They got dressed quickly and Louis opened the door, immediately coming out with it. "I'm so sorry, Shogi. I freaked out when you told us about Renju and I ran away and, and—"

The sheep shook his head. "I-it's okay. Can I please come in?"

Louis turned to look at his wolf mate.

Legosi nodded an beckoned him inside. "Please come in, Shogi-san! We've had a lot of things happen to us, but we still want to help you!"

The sheep blinked. "H-help me?"

Louis shut the door. "We're just worried about you..."

"It's good to see you, though! You look good." The dog offered a smile.

Shogi wiped his eyes. It was clear he had been crying. He was holding an envelope, which neither animal had mentioned so far. "I...Feel good. For once."

The deer sat back on his mate's lap. "You got the money, then."

The woolly animal nodded. "I did. I...can't thank you enough, Louis. I didn't understand why Oguma would have sent me this much. I came up here with only the assumption that you had some influence on it and it's nice to know I was right."

"And it's not just the money," Legosi spoke up. "We'll help you in any other way we can! We promise."

Louis nodded. "Money won't nearly solve all your problems. Only financially. Just like with Legosi and I, there's a lot of mental stuff going on. Ren was your motivation...It's going to be hard to get that back. But you can, slowly but surely."

"You should get to know the other animals living here," the carnivore continued.

The deer leaned back against him. "Yeah. But...maybe start with your own place. I'm not sure what it entirely looks like since the lights were off, but it smelled...Well..."

Shogi looked down, going to sit on the couch. "I know. I just...got so depressed..."

"And we understand."

"We can help with the room, too," Legosi assured. "Anything, after what you did for us!"

"You guys...Louis. You need to hear me. I never once blamed you for what happened. I shouldn't have fled after that night and owned up to it. It's not like he was going to kill me if he found out..."

Louis sighed. "I...blamed myself, really."

"It's...horrible what happened. We're really sorry, Shogi-san." Legosi wanted to reach out and place a comforting hand on the sheep, but he decided not to.

Louis adjusted his eyepatch. "It's horrible that it happened, but...It happened. Some of us have lost people close to us, but lost is a past tense word. It happened and there's nothing you can do now. Another animal I know...Lost someone. It's hard sometimes, but he's accepted it and he may never move past it, but...He learned to live with it. That's what you need to do."

Shogi looked down. "I'm sorry..."

The deer blinked. "What are you apologizing for?"

The herbivore shrugged. "I'm not sure, Louis. Myself?"

Legosi spoke up again. "None of our problems were caused by ourselves. We simply have to work together on moving forward."

Louis made a noise that said he agreed.

Shogi smiled. "Yes. I think I'd like to get better."

The cervid grinned. "And you will. We can help each other. Do you want an egg sandwich? I always make a little extra in case Legosi wants more."

The sheep scratched his cheek. "I think that would be nice, thank you."

Louis disappeared from his lover's lap and went to prepare another sandwich.

"If Oguma-san agreed to give you money, maybe you could go back to work for him," Legosi pointed out.

Shogi furrowed his brows. "H-he'd never...When Legosi and I have dinner with him soon, I'll talk to him about it."

"Only if you want that job back." the wolf shrugged. "If it doesn't...bring bad memories."

"I was used to it...And I was good at it."

Louis raised a finger. "And you were clearly passionate about it. Legosi and I made that soup a few times. Right, hon?"

The canine instantly perked up. "Oh, yes! I love that soup!"

The deer finished the sandwich, bringing the plate over and handing it to Shogi, then sitting next to him.

The sheep took a bite. "It's very good. Thank you, Louis."

"So...what are you going to do with the money?"

"Well...Rent for one. Other than that...I'm not sure. What do you guys think?"

"I think you need to fix up your room," Legosi said.

Shogi sighed. "You're...right. I really need to clean it. Also, I need new clothes...because, um..."

The wolf snorted but tried to hide it. The smell had been quite bad since the animal had entered, but he had done his best not to let on that he noticed.

Louis looked to the side. "I know, I know."

Shogi looked at them both. "I won't let this money go to waste, but I won't use it as a crutch, either."

The deer smiled again. "Good. I have something I need to take care of tomorrow, but we'll come over as soon as we're available. Unless you and Legosi want to take care of it."

Shogi moved his eyes to land on the wolf.

"Um, if you want to, Shogi-san. I can help you out while Louis is out...doing his errands."

Louis' eye moved to Legosi. "...If you're sure." Can you really handle it?

"It'll get my mind off of it." Legosi glanced over at Shogi. "Off of everything that's happened."

The sheep smiled. "Great! Then why don't you come over tomorrow and we can get it cleaned up? Though...I much prefer the darkness, still."

"We'll need to open the windows for the smell. Sorry, Shogi-san."

"It's okay, Legosi...I'm so embarrassed..."

Louis put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be embarrassed. How did you figure out where we live anyway?"

Shogi cleared his throat. "Morgane told me. Also...I got a letter from your friend Pina and the invitation to your party...Sorry I didn't go...I was really nervous. Truth is, I was so nervous to come here today."

"Well, you did and that's what matters." Legosi shifted closer to him. "Shogi-san? Is it okay if we hug you?"

The sheep nodded.

Legosi gently wrapped his large arms around Shogi's small, wooly frame, placing his chin on his head.

Louis wrapped his arms around both of them. "I'm sorry you went through all of that, Shogi. I truly am."

Shogi took a long breath. "Like you guys said...I will get better."

"We all will," Legosi promised. "Together."